In 2009, as a Green Way initiative, Centiva began a large scale waste reduction plan. Management and employees completed a dumpster dive to evaluate materials going to the landfill. After evaluation, it was determined that the two greatest areas for improvement were raw material packaging waste and employee-driven, non-manufacturing waste.

To eliminate raw material packaging waste, an outside consulting company was contacted to find users for the packaging materials and a large bailer was installed in the factory. Now, all recyclable packaging materials are bailed and recycled. High density cardboard cores initially presented a challenge. Local recyclers would not accept them due to the difficulty in bailing so Centiva began searching for end users. They now go to a local tissue plant that boils them down and reuses the cardboard. The next step is to eliminate the waste all together. Vendors have been asked to commit to reducing packaging waste, even if that comes at a higher cost.

Employees are committed to reducing their impact as well. The dumpster dive showed that although employee recycling bins were available, recyclables were still making their way into the garbage bins. To combat this practice, garbage bins were removed from the employee common areas and replaced with sorting stations. As a result, waste has been reduced by more than 25 percent. Production has increased more than 50 percent in the same period.